ARTICLES ABOUT DOUG GILMOUR BY DATE - PAGE 3

Mike Smith is an intelligent man. Smith knows no matter how well Doug Gilmour plays-- and with nine points in his last five games, he's playing very well--the center is worth more to the Blackhawks as trade bait than as a player. Trading Gilmour--and Smith has made it clear he is willing to do so before the March 14 deadline--frees up $6 million in salary for the manager of hockey operations to play with this summer in the free-agent market. Trading Gilmour likely nets Smith more draft choices to stockpile with the four first-rounders he has in the next two drafts.

Fittingly, for a player with the reputation of being a consummate professional, Doug Gilmour capped a wild and trying week with a milestone. With a third-period assist Sunday, Gilmour passed Alex Delvecchio for 20th place on the National Hockey League's all-time points list. A lot of players have played this game. Gilmour, with 1,282 points, now owns more points than all but 19 of them. "It's something I'll think of more when I'm done," Gilmour said. "Of course I'll be proud of it then.

Dirk Graham and Lorne Molleken are former minor-league teammates and good friends, but their approaches to coaching couldn't be more different. Graham, in his short stint as Blackhawks coach last season, ruled with a tough-love approach, demanding more from his players at every turn and punishing them with more work when they didn't produce. Molleken is a players' coach who refuses to criticize anyone publicly and who tries to keep a positive spin on even the most dire situations.

As good as Doug Gilmour's performance was Friday night in yet another Blackhawks loss, his off-ice performance after he got a goal and two assists was even better. That's when the Hawks captain flashed the form that has earned him a reputation as one of the finest leaders in the game. He took to task a young team that, in his view, is guilty of being outworked too often, because he knows the consequences that may have for associate coach Lorne Molleken. "There's only one person that I feel bad for here and that's Lorney," Gilmour said.

On Wednesday, Kyle Calder found himself playing for Cleveland of the International Hockey League. Friday night, Calder skated on a line with Tony Amonte and Alex Zhamnov. Not a bad turn of events for the 21-year-old rookie, considered one of the brighter prospects in the Hawks' system. Calder had eight goals and 24 points in 52 games with Cleveland. He also had played three games earlier this season with the Hawks, scoring his first NHL goal Dec. 14 against San Jose. "That helps a little bit," Calder said.

Here's how you handle trade rumors: You go out and play the way Doug Gilmour played Friday night against the Capitals. Gilmour scored a goal and added two assists and engineered a third-period rally before a crowd of 17,434 at the United Center. Ultimately, Gilmour's performance wasn't enough as Terry Yake's wraparound goal with 4 minutes 12 seconds remaining lifted Washington to a 5-4 victory. The Capitals have a 17-3-4 record since Christmas; the Hawks have lost three straight on this four-game homestand.

The rumors are linked to this time of year, a mere 4 1/2 weeks before the National Hockey League trading deadline. Like weeds they keep appearing and center Doug Gilmour keeps saying the same things, but they won't go away. They grew again this past weekend at the All-Star Game and Gilmour, who still has a home outside of Toronto, heard them too. "Yeah I heard them," Gilmour said. "Lots of them." Gilmour to the Rangers. Gilmour to the Maple Leafs. Gilmour to Los Angeles.

Chicago Blackhawks center Doug Gilmour has paid about $1.75 million for an almost-new, 10-room single-family home in Lincoln Park. The $6 million-a-year Gilmour, 36, is known as a fiercely physical competitor who spent most of his career with other teams before joining the Blackhawks in 1998. Gilmour's new house, which he purchased from a bank trust, is Palladian-style, and has five bedrooms and four fireplaces. Gilmour purchased the house after selling a 10-room, four-bedroom brownstone a few blocks away that he had owned for about a year.

Dean McAmmond knows all about adjusting. Adjusting is marrying the woman you love and, at the same time, becoming a father to an 8-year-old daughter. Adjusting is moving from a farming community to the big city and from Canada to the United States after a trade uproots you from a city in which you've spent six of your 26 years. Adjusting is confronting life after a close friend dies in a fire. Moving from a line on which he had grown comfortable to skating on the Blackhawks' top line with Tony Amonte and Doug Gilmour?

Though he is a well-respected leader who has served as captain for two storied franchises, Doug Gilmour remains a man of few words. Leave it to the Blackhawks' captain, then, to give a succinct ringing endorsement for associate coach Lorne Molleken, whose future beyond this season remains in doubt. "Lorney's done everything he's supposed to do as a coach," Gilmour said. "If we don't make the playoffs, it's time to check the players we have here. It's not the coach's fault."